A blog designed to help make safety easy.

January 31, 2014August 5, 2015

Do You Know How Often?

Do you know how often you should be inspecting your fall protection equipment??

This is a common question when we meet with contractors and fall protection users. There is little argument that correct and diligent inspection of your personal fall protection is essential to job site safety.Let’s take a look at what ANSI and OSHA have to say about the frequency of inspections.OSHA 1926.502(d)(21)
“Personal fall arrest systems shall be inspected prior to each use for wear, damage and other deterioration, and defective components shall be removed from service.
General industry standard ANSI Z359 2007, section 5.5:
“Fall protection and rescue equipment shall be inspected on a regular basis not to exceed one year (or more frequently if required by manufacture’s instructions) by a competent person or competent rescuer, as appropriate, to verify that the equipment is safe for use. The inspection shall be documented.”Construction standard ANSI A10 32-2004 section 6.3.2:
“Formal inspections shall be made by either a competent or qualified person on at least a semi annual basis. Suggested examination periods are 3/1 to 3/31 and 9/1 to 9/30 for each employer.”Note that both parts of ANSI state that the worker must inspect the equipment prior to every use and that the formal inspections be documented. Guardian includes instructions with all products and recommends that you follow the ANSI A10 Guideline which is a semi annual inspection. It’s important that whatever fall protection is used that the workers comply with the manufactures care and maintenance stipulations.

Safety Supply Illinois is here to help! We would be happy to come out to your job site for a complimentary product inspection of your entire stock of products or help you to get someone certified for a “Competent Person.”